Taiwan’s US $200,000 donation symbolizes “a friend indeed”
By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – In what was described by many as “an appropriate and kind gesture”, Resident Ambassador of The Republic of China on Taiwan His Excellency Rong-Chuan Wu presented Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas with a generous financial contribution toward the recent Resettlement Programme.
At a special ground-breaking ceremony held yesterday (Nov. 10) at Conn Phipps Housing Development to signify the relocation of displaced coastal residents, Ambassador Wu presented Douglas with a cheque in the amount of US $200,000 and indicated that he is pleased to be able to help the 25 families in need.
Wu explained that Taiwan is similar to the Federation in that it experiences many natural disasters, including typhoons and earthquakes every year and noted that with greenhouse effect and climate change, it has been experiencing more natural disasters than before.
He however noted that the people there believe that one day they will overcome the troubles of nature, a concept that “simply 
encourages us to work much harder”.
“’Destruction will bring us more construction’ is the motto I want to share with you. I willingly answered the call of the PM and agreed to the immediate resettlement of residents. He even promised to skip all the bureaucratic procedures just to get it done quickly.
We are closely observing our ally nations and we feel what you feel and we believe that this damage that we faced here will force us to work harder for our new homes. I also believe that the new homes will be much better than the ones you had before,” Wu stated.
PM Douglas noted that while the country was already suffering from severe disasters of the past, and being threatened by the global financial crisis, he was not certain as to where the government would get the necessary financial assistance to make the resettlement possible.
“I spoke with my good friend, Ambassador [Wu], and I told him that I needed for him to assist because some of my householders in this country are not living in good conditions at this time. Government had taken a decision to relocate people to have them in homes as quickly as possible but we needed some assistance. He immediately told me that he was going to make contact with his government and within two or three days, he called me and indicated that he was ready because his government had responded positively. ~~Adz:Left~~
“This afternoon’s ceremony therefore, is an expression of what is meant by a brother’s keeper. We have seen the compassion where a friend in need really becomes a friend indeed. Although it is not a complete financial package, and government has to find the rest somehow, it is a very firm step to take as we get our people back and try to bring their lives back to a state of normalcy.”
PM Douglas thanked the government and people of the Republic of China on Taiwan and Ambassador Wu himself for “coming forward with this very generous gift of donating toward the resettlement of our people who have been affected by this natural disaster”.
